sleepyhead
Well-known
WARNING - LONG POST!
Hello all, I was recently asked by some close friends if I could photographically "cover" the Confirmation of their teenage daughter (you know, Christian church rite, followed by a sit-down Lunch with friends and family). It was held last Sunday.
If any of you are interested, I will share below some thoughts and "lessons learned" of how it went from a photographer's perspective - what worked and what didn't. And, I'll eventually post some of the results once I get the films processed and scanned.
I would also love to hear the experiences of others - amateurs and professionals - who have done similar assignments.
First a little about me: I'm an amateur (hobbyist) photographer, but I've been doing it for about 30 something years, the last 20 something with Leicas, so I'm not totally unexperienced. I don't own, nor have I ever used, a serious digital camera, so that wasn't a possibility for this shoot (more thoughts on digital vs. film below... ...I've been thinking about selling my film Leicas for an Leica M9 this year...)
THE ASSIGNMENT: This was not a paid job, it was a favour to friends. The family were sure that they wanted colour photos. They wanted some coverage of the Church ceremony, and portraits outside the church following the ceremony. They wanted pictures of the Lunch with friends and family (including the food), pictures of their daughter opening her gifts, and some shots of people giving speeches at Lunch. They also wanted a photo shoot with their daughter outdoors after the Lunch, to capture some more portrait shots.
BEFORE THE DAY: I had only about one weeks notice before this Confirmation that I would be "the photographer". As I had never been to a Confirmation before, the first thing I did was to get online and look at websites with Confirmation photos to get some idea of what to expect, the style of photos, some inspiration from professional photographers websites, etc. This was a good idea, as it got my own ideas flowing regarding shots and poses, and that helped me plan what equipment to bring.
Regarding locations, there was the Church interior (Roskilde Domkirke, perhaps Denmark's most important church), the outside of the church, the function room where the lunch would be held (a few kilometers away), and the area outside that. I was already familar with the interiors (dim Church, fairly dim function room), and the areas outside the church, but not the other outside location. So I rode my bicycle over there a couple of days before the event to scout out potential locations for outdoor portraiture.
The weather for the day was predicted to be (and was in fact) cool and breezy with clear sunshine - which, if you know this part of the world means harsh, contrasty, low-angle sunlight with a crystal clear atmosphere (no haze, no clouds). Not very flattering light...
THE EQUIPMENT: I was limited to a small amount of equipment because we don't have a car (I'm on bicycle), and I would have no assistant, and I knew I needed to be mobile for the church shots (inside and outside). On top of that I would be at the event with my three young children, who would be more of a hinderance than a help photographically.
I had a choice between shooting this assignment with my Hasselblad system, or my Leica system (the only systems I have with interchangable lenses). Ideally, I would have had an assistant and used the Leica for the quick moving, spontaneous stuff, and the Hasselblad for the more static portraiture.
But as it was, I settled on two M4-P bodies with C-41 film, one with 100 ISO film, and one with 800 ISO. They have different coloured wrist straps so I could tell them apart. I brought four lenses: 28/2 Summicron, 35/2 Summicron, 50/1.5 C-Sonnar, and 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit. Plus, a Vivitar 283 flash, and a handheld incident light meter. All these items fit in a small shoulder bag.
ON THE DAY:
(1) Inside the church. We arrived late, the church was packed, but we managed to get seats where I would at least be able to capture the group of teenagers being confirmed as they walked into and out of the church at the beginning and end of the ceremony. On top of that, the church program made it clear that photography was only allowed at certain limited times in the program, and there were many church assistants walking around making sure people stayed in their seats and were "solemn" and quiet. There was no way I was going to get close enough to the front of the church to get a shot of the daughter knealing down before the alter with the priest's hand on her head...
LESSON LEARNED: get there early. Get a good seat.
Regarding light: it was dim inside the church - with ISO 800 it was 1/30 at f/2. I shot mainly with the 35/2 Summicron wide open.
I managed to take a frame or two as the kids walking into and out of the church, but at 1/30th of a second and narrow depth of field, I'm not too hopeful.
PREDICTION: the interior church shots will be a FAILURE 🙁
(2) Outside the church (group portraits and individual portraits). This went better, there was plenty of light, both harsh sunlight and open shade on the shadow side of the church. There were crowds of people vying for position to take the group portraits, but there was plently of time to do so. At ISO 100 I was shooting the 35mm Summicron at 1/500 at f/5.6 in the sun. For the single portraits, I used the 90mm Tele-Elmarit at f/2.8 and the 50mm C-Sonnar at f/2.8. My copy of this lens is optimized for f/1.5and now I'm concerned that my focus may have been off due to focus shift.
PREDICTION: the exterior church shots have a decent chance of SUCCESS
(3) Interior shots at the Luncheon. I used the ISO 800 camera handheld. I used the 35/2 mainly for people, and the 50/1.5 for some shots of the set table and the food. I didn't use the 28mm Summicron at all, but in retrospect I should have used it to capture groups of 3-5 people instead of the 2-3 people that I shot with the 35mm lens.
LESSON LEARNED: vary focal length a bit more next time to get a variety of shots.
The room was fairly bright near the windows, but fairly dim further in. In the dimmer parts I used the ISO 100 camera at f/4 with the Vivitar 283 bounced off the ceiling which was a sort-of cream colour. In retrospect, I should have used the ISO 800 camera for the flash shots as the ceiling was fairly high in some places and I'm not sure if the Vivitar was powerful enough...
PREDICTION: a mixed chance of success...
(4) Outdoor portrait photoshoot after lunch. I used the ISO 100 camera exclusively with the 50mm lens for full-body shots and the 90mm lens for tighter compositions. There was plenty of light, but it was harsh. Spring hasn't really come here yet, so there were bare, leaf-less branches and harsh shadows and harsh backgrounds everywhere.
Plus, it was cool and windy, so my model in her gleaming white dress was cold and unrelaxed. I felt time pressured due to her being cold and uncomfortable. Plus she is shy to begin with...
PREDICTION: a mixed chance of success...
THOUGHTS AFTERWARDS: Well, as you can gather from my ramblings above, I don't have high hopes for this assignment. I just hope that my friends have LOW EXPECTATIONS and aren't too disappointed.
I wondered before and after doing this assignment if having a Leica M9 would have changed anything for me. I would have carried only one body instead of two (for different ISOs). I would have been able (perhaps) to push the ISO on the M9 to 1600 for the dim church interiors. I would have been able to check my flash exposures on the spot for interior shots. I would have been able to check if I was nailing the focus with my 50mm f/1.5 C-Sonnar set at f/2.8. I would have been able to already evaluate the results of the day and already be posting results to you...
(INSTANT UN-GRATIFICATION 😉
ON THE OTHER HAND, the M4-Ps were a pleasure to use, nice and quiet, and carrying two bodies was no big deal and provided the possibility of a back-up camera if one body malfunctioned. Also, C-41 film is very forgiving in exposures, unlike digital. Finally, is waiting for the results SO BAD? What's the rush really? (And I'm around 3000 British Pounds richer for not owning a Leica M9...)
I will post again in a few weeks - once the film has been processed.
Hello all, I was recently asked by some close friends if I could photographically "cover" the Confirmation of their teenage daughter (you know, Christian church rite, followed by a sit-down Lunch with friends and family). It was held last Sunday.
If any of you are interested, I will share below some thoughts and "lessons learned" of how it went from a photographer's perspective - what worked and what didn't. And, I'll eventually post some of the results once I get the films processed and scanned.
I would also love to hear the experiences of others - amateurs and professionals - who have done similar assignments.
First a little about me: I'm an amateur (hobbyist) photographer, but I've been doing it for about 30 something years, the last 20 something with Leicas, so I'm not totally unexperienced. I don't own, nor have I ever used, a serious digital camera, so that wasn't a possibility for this shoot (more thoughts on digital vs. film below... ...I've been thinking about selling my film Leicas for an Leica M9 this year...)
THE ASSIGNMENT: This was not a paid job, it was a favour to friends. The family were sure that they wanted colour photos. They wanted some coverage of the Church ceremony, and portraits outside the church following the ceremony. They wanted pictures of the Lunch with friends and family (including the food), pictures of their daughter opening her gifts, and some shots of people giving speeches at Lunch. They also wanted a photo shoot with their daughter outdoors after the Lunch, to capture some more portrait shots.
BEFORE THE DAY: I had only about one weeks notice before this Confirmation that I would be "the photographer". As I had never been to a Confirmation before, the first thing I did was to get online and look at websites with Confirmation photos to get some idea of what to expect, the style of photos, some inspiration from professional photographers websites, etc. This was a good idea, as it got my own ideas flowing regarding shots and poses, and that helped me plan what equipment to bring.
Regarding locations, there was the Church interior (Roskilde Domkirke, perhaps Denmark's most important church), the outside of the church, the function room where the lunch would be held (a few kilometers away), and the area outside that. I was already familar with the interiors (dim Church, fairly dim function room), and the areas outside the church, but not the other outside location. So I rode my bicycle over there a couple of days before the event to scout out potential locations for outdoor portraiture.
The weather for the day was predicted to be (and was in fact) cool and breezy with clear sunshine - which, if you know this part of the world means harsh, contrasty, low-angle sunlight with a crystal clear atmosphere (no haze, no clouds). Not very flattering light...
THE EQUIPMENT: I was limited to a small amount of equipment because we don't have a car (I'm on bicycle), and I would have no assistant, and I knew I needed to be mobile for the church shots (inside and outside). On top of that I would be at the event with my three young children, who would be more of a hinderance than a help photographically.
I had a choice between shooting this assignment with my Hasselblad system, or my Leica system (the only systems I have with interchangable lenses). Ideally, I would have had an assistant and used the Leica for the quick moving, spontaneous stuff, and the Hasselblad for the more static portraiture.
But as it was, I settled on two M4-P bodies with C-41 film, one with 100 ISO film, and one with 800 ISO. They have different coloured wrist straps so I could tell them apart. I brought four lenses: 28/2 Summicron, 35/2 Summicron, 50/1.5 C-Sonnar, and 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit. Plus, a Vivitar 283 flash, and a handheld incident light meter. All these items fit in a small shoulder bag.
ON THE DAY:
(1) Inside the church. We arrived late, the church was packed, but we managed to get seats where I would at least be able to capture the group of teenagers being confirmed as they walked into and out of the church at the beginning and end of the ceremony. On top of that, the church program made it clear that photography was only allowed at certain limited times in the program, and there were many church assistants walking around making sure people stayed in their seats and were "solemn" and quiet. There was no way I was going to get close enough to the front of the church to get a shot of the daughter knealing down before the alter with the priest's hand on her head...
LESSON LEARNED: get there early. Get a good seat.
Regarding light: it was dim inside the church - with ISO 800 it was 1/30 at f/2. I shot mainly with the 35/2 Summicron wide open.
I managed to take a frame or two as the kids walking into and out of the church, but at 1/30th of a second and narrow depth of field, I'm not too hopeful.
PREDICTION: the interior church shots will be a FAILURE 🙁
(2) Outside the church (group portraits and individual portraits). This went better, there was plenty of light, both harsh sunlight and open shade on the shadow side of the church. There were crowds of people vying for position to take the group portraits, but there was plently of time to do so. At ISO 100 I was shooting the 35mm Summicron at 1/500 at f/5.6 in the sun. For the single portraits, I used the 90mm Tele-Elmarit at f/2.8 and the 50mm C-Sonnar at f/2.8. My copy of this lens is optimized for f/1.5and now I'm concerned that my focus may have been off due to focus shift.
PREDICTION: the exterior church shots have a decent chance of SUCCESS
(3) Interior shots at the Luncheon. I used the ISO 800 camera handheld. I used the 35/2 mainly for people, and the 50/1.5 for some shots of the set table and the food. I didn't use the 28mm Summicron at all, but in retrospect I should have used it to capture groups of 3-5 people instead of the 2-3 people that I shot with the 35mm lens.
LESSON LEARNED: vary focal length a bit more next time to get a variety of shots.
The room was fairly bright near the windows, but fairly dim further in. In the dimmer parts I used the ISO 100 camera at f/4 with the Vivitar 283 bounced off the ceiling which was a sort-of cream colour. In retrospect, I should have used the ISO 800 camera for the flash shots as the ceiling was fairly high in some places and I'm not sure if the Vivitar was powerful enough...
PREDICTION: a mixed chance of success...
(4) Outdoor portrait photoshoot after lunch. I used the ISO 100 camera exclusively with the 50mm lens for full-body shots and the 90mm lens for tighter compositions. There was plenty of light, but it was harsh. Spring hasn't really come here yet, so there were bare, leaf-less branches and harsh shadows and harsh backgrounds everywhere.
Plus, it was cool and windy, so my model in her gleaming white dress was cold and unrelaxed. I felt time pressured due to her being cold and uncomfortable. Plus she is shy to begin with...
PREDICTION: a mixed chance of success...
THOUGHTS AFTERWARDS: Well, as you can gather from my ramblings above, I don't have high hopes for this assignment. I just hope that my friends have LOW EXPECTATIONS and aren't too disappointed.
I wondered before and after doing this assignment if having a Leica M9 would have changed anything for me. I would have carried only one body instead of two (for different ISOs). I would have been able (perhaps) to push the ISO on the M9 to 1600 for the dim church interiors. I would have been able to check my flash exposures on the spot for interior shots. I would have been able to check if I was nailing the focus with my 50mm f/1.5 C-Sonnar set at f/2.8. I would have been able to already evaluate the results of the day and already be posting results to you...
(INSTANT UN-GRATIFICATION 😉
ON THE OTHER HAND, the M4-Ps were a pleasure to use, nice and quiet, and carrying two bodies was no big deal and provided the possibility of a back-up camera if one body malfunctioned. Also, C-41 film is very forgiving in exposures, unlike digital. Finally, is waiting for the results SO BAD? What's the rush really? (And I'm around 3000 British Pounds richer for not owning a Leica M9...)
I will post again in a few weeks - once the film has been processed.
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